Pacifica had a small idea of what was happening when Rebecca and Shouri returned. She had expected Rebecca to celebrate her learner’s permit, but instead, the poor fox looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. They were all asked to sit on the couch, Shouri sitting on the table, their opposite. What’s more, he had handed over their tuners. It was a symbolic gesture – whatever he wanted to say was between them as people, not as a Maestro to his Resonators.

  Embarrassment? Maybe? It was difficult to parse – Rebecca was purposefully obfuscating her emotions so Pacifica couldn’t read her.

  What was her fellow Resonator hiding?

  It most definitely had to do with whatever Shouri was about to talk to them about. Poor Taika was even more in the dark and she didn’t have the luxury of being able to read the room. She occasionally stole glances at Rebecca, trying to focus on Shouri, but being hopelessly distracted.

  “Alright,” Shouri finally spoke. “I think it’s finally time we have this talk,” he began. He hummed in thought, gathering his words before speaking again. “I don’t think it’s a secret we’ve all been kinda… involved with one another for some time now,” Shouri decided.

  Pacifica nodded, her suspicions of the topic now confirmed.

  “I’m not gonna pick one of you.”

  “Huh?” three confused, yet concerned gazes met their Maestro.

  “Maybe I worded that poorly, I’m going to pick all of you,” he rephrased.

  “HUH?” More confusion.

  Shouri took a breath and continued. “Look, I love all three of you. I’m gonna be honest about that. I love you three so damn much. The thought of leaving any of you out hurts – I don’t want that. So fuck it, I’m going to be greedy. I’ll just love all three of you.”

  Silence.

  His bravado started to fade in the face of the overwhelming quiet. “I hope that’s not a problem,” he muttered.

  Pacifica lowered her head, trembling. “That’s…”

  Shouri’s brows turned up as he braced himself for the rebuttal.

  “GREAT!” the otter threw her head back, her expression bright. “I love you Sho!” she shouted as if throwing a great weight off her shoulders. “But… Taika, Rebby, I love you too…” her smile was radiant, though the tears of relief that poured down her cheeks spoke to her own anguish about the situation.

  Rebecca’s face was completely red as she tried to hide from the world with just her hands alone. Regardless, Pacifica’s outpouring of emotion earned a muffled “me too,” from the fox.

  Taika was the only one left, and now all eyes were on her. Her expression was just as troubled as the other’s had been previously. The weight of this conversation was not relieved by simple admission. “I… never thought I’d be here,” she spoke quietly. “Do… you all really… love someone like me?”

  “Taika-” Shouri reached out for her, but Rebecca snapped and turned on her, pinning the lunar fox to the arm of the couch.

  “Someone like you?!” hissed the Renard. “How dare you?!” Rebecca growled. “Yeah, you’re included! Why wouldn’t I?! Why wouldn’t we?!” barked the fire element.

  Taika trembled, refusing the intense blazing eyes bearing down on her. “I’m not honest with… any of you.”

  Before Rebecca could ask what she was going on about, Shouri spoke up.

  “None of us care about that. We know we’re going to have to deal with your… caretakers eventually,” Shouri said loud and clear.

  “That’s another reason I had Rebecca train me,” Pacifica chimed in.

  “I don’t care who or what they are. They’re not taking you away from me-us,” Rebecca added, keeping the other girl pinned.

  And now it was Taika’s turn on the teary-eye express as she got the relief the others had cashed in already. “Really?” she squeaked.

  Rebecca eased up. “Really,” she whispered. “I know we got off on a bad start… but I do love you too,” though she admitted this, Rebecca’s face was rapidly approaching her hair in hue.

  “I don’t deserve this,” Taika sniffled. “But I love you… I love you all so much…”

  Shouri finally cracked a smile. “Alright, bring it in.” He held his arms open for his trio, a mistake as he got slammed onto the table by the weight of the three girls he had decided to share his life with.

  After a good hug and cry, they resumed their positions.

  “So now what?” asked Rebecca.

  “Ground rules remain the same but with one new caveat; we’re keeping this little arrangement of ours among the four of us. Nobody else,” Shouri stated.

  “I agree,” Pacifica said first.

  “Yeah, that’s fair,” Rebecca nodded.

  “What about Vienna?” Taika wondered.

  The room went silent.

  Shouri grunted, once more deciding on how he should address this. “I know for a fact she doesn’t love me, and I know she sure as hell doesn’t love any of you.” The couch-bound trio nodded in hearty agreement at that assessment. Shouri continued, “Even so, I promised myself to you three, not her. Even if she comes back, I won’t take her tuner. She has Faith. I at least hope that their relationship was mended, wherever they ended up.”

  “He’s deadly serious about that,” Pacifica confirmed. The two foxes nodded, accepting Pacifica’s confirmation as gospel.

  “Thank you lie detector Pacifica,” Shouri joked.

  “No problem,” Pacifica grinned and winked back.

  After a moment, the quartet laughed heartily.

  All was at peace in the world.

  The next morning came with the group returning to their usual routine. However today, Pacifica decided to mix it up. “Hey Rebby, go with Sho to get breakfast.”

  “Huh? Me? Why?” questioned the fox.

  “You hardly ever get to go on breakfast runs.” The otter leaned in close to the fire fox. “Plus, I’m sure you want more alone time with Sho since you spent yesterday mostly at school,” she whispered.

  “You’re up to something,” Rebecca pointed out.

  “Perhaps,” Pacifica tittered quietly.

  “Fine, have fun I guess,” Rebecca stood up straight.

  Shouri watched the exchange happen but decided to let them self-mediate. “Alright, come on,” he waved Rebecca to follow along, which she did dutifully.

  Thus Pacifica and Taika were left alone.

  “Finally,” Pacifica turned to her fellow Resonator.

  “Che?” Taika tilted her head.

  “You’re the only one I have yet to kiss,” the otter said with a grin.

  “Dio mio…” the fox whimpered as Pacifica approached.

  Pacifica didn’t let her escape, grabbing hold of the other girl before she could get too far. “We literally had a big confession session last night. Just let me have this,” Pacifica whispered.

  “You… kissed Rebecca?” Taika asked.

  “Of course, how was she?” Pacifica fired back with an inquiry of her own.

  “Warm, nice,” Taika mumbled.

  “Yeah, that was my experience.” The otter girl shook her head. “But we’re not talking about her, we’re talking about you and me right now. Come here!”

  With all of her attempts at deflection failing her Taika had no other choice left but to let it happen. The warmth of Pacifica’s lips against her own was amazing. She relaxed in her friend’s grasp, Pacifica’s stronger tail wrapped around her legs as they fell backward onto the bed.

  The vixen gulped as she was now securely pinned by her taller counterpart. “Good?” Pacifica asked.

  “B-bene…” Taika said, her face flushed.

  “Good, 'cause we need to make up for lost time.”

  “Dio mio…” Taika whimpered as Pacifica approached for a second round.

  “Where’s Taika?” Shouri asked as they returned to the room. Pacifica pointed at the vaguely Taika-shaped lump underneath the blanket.

  “Not gonna ask,” Shouri decided, setting down breakfast to be claimed by the others. He placed a take-out box on the edge of the bed for Taika to claim when she got over herself.

  “So, what are we doing today?” Rebecca asked, plopping down next to Pacifica and popping open one of the containers.

  “Dunno,” Shouri joined the two girls on the couch. “Everyone else is everywhere,” he considered aloud. He watched in slight amusement as Taika slowly crawled out from under the covers and perched herself on the end of the bed to consume her food.

  “Emily is still on Luna, Elijah is busy house hunting for us, and Vince is back in Lybertera until we get something concrete down,” the Maestro continued.

  “That leaves Miro and Colette,” Pacifica brought up.

  “Oh yeah… Miro was at school with her, wasn’t he?” Rebecca recalled.

  “Yeah, he’s in the same field of study as her – Rhythm research,” Shouri told the group. He glared at the calendar app on his tuner. “It’s Saturday, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s doing some work today to make up for lost time,” mumbled the Maestro.

  “I wonder if us becoming ‘official’ affected our rhythm at all,” Pacifica pondered aloud.

  All eyes were on turned otterward.

  “What?” Pacifica asked.

  “That’s a good question,” Rebecca said.

  “We can probably have them check out our tempo and find out,” Shouri offered.

  Taika remained quiet during this whole exchange; sitting at the foot of the bed, her ears folded back while she held herself.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Taika,” Shouri spoke up, causing the girl to jump. “Thoughts?” he asked.

  The vixen hummed, furrowing her brows as she refused the concerned gazes of her friends. “Non,” she shook her head.

  Shouri walked over and knelt in front of her. “Hey.” She refused his gaze. “Let’s talk about it,” he offered.

  “Non,” she refused again.

  “Taika-!” Rebecca stood up. Shouri held a hand to stay her rage.

  “I promise you Miro isn’t like them,” he whispered gently. “I met a lot of friendly Naturals in Subterris. I’m not asking you to love him and skip through the fields together, but he’s someone I trust.” Shouri held her hands as he spoke.

  She remained quiet, the torment swirling in her eyes. Her normally bright blue rhythm that glowed in times of stubbornness remained muted, her natural blues being allowed to display her grief. He squeezed her hands tighter. “I love you Taika,” her face flushed red at the statement. “If you can’t trust him, can you trust me?” he asked.

  Her lips trembled as she shakily nodded her head.

  “That’s my girl, come on love.” He stood up. Poor Taika’s face remained red – this was their new normal, huh?

  “Fuck,” Shouri cursed.

  Lyreann University was the same as it ever was. Fall had fully set in by this point in October, so Pacifica was decked out in her winter clothes she kept from their trek up Mt. Sinchero. The rest of the party had their everyday wear on. However, Shouri’s complaint wasn’t from the chill of Fall, but a different problem that had reared its ugly head upon their arrival.

  “Oh…” Pacifica suddenly gasped. “We have no idea where Colette is,” she spoke the realization.

  “We don’t?” Rebecca raised a brow.

  “No, we only knew where she was before because of the specific circumstances behind our visit,” Shouri recalled.

  “The feroce thing,” Rebecca furrowed her brow. “We could just wander around until we find her,” came the idea.

  Which earned a furious head shake of denial from the Maestro. “Absolutely not, this place is a fucking maze.”

  “Let’s not look for Colette then,” Pacifica suggested.

  “Miro will be easier to find,” Shouri nodded in agreement, calming at the proposal.

  Taika grunted, holding herself tighter. Shouri shot a glance at her. “I can give you something else to focus on,” he offered.

  She was about to ask what he meant when her gaze finally met his. The coy smirk was one thing, but the moistening of his lips. She shook her head. “Farò il bravo…” whimpered the fox.

  Rebecca caught onto the implication and covered her mouth and nose to hide the red steadily creeping up.

  Pacifica rolled her eyes. “Cowards,” she decided. She grabbed Shouri by the shoulders, spun him around, and accepted the kind offer he had offered Taika - making a scene in the middle of the campus grounds. Thankfully it was Saturday so there weren’t nearly as many people prowling the property to bear witness to their affectionate public display.

  She broke off after a moment, licking her lips. “Thanks for the meal,” the otter said wearing a satisfied grin. “Let’s go find Miro,” she declared, pointing towards a building at random.

  “Oh, she’s gotten worse,” Rebecca mumbled.

  “In public?!” hissed Taika.

  Shouri didn’t appear bothered one way or another, simply following Pacifica’s lead as if the last display of endearment hadn’t happened.

  Seeing how neither participant was dwelling on it, all Taika and Rebecca could do was follow along.

  They caught up just in time to see Pacifica accosting a poor defenseless student.

  “Hey!” beamed Pacifica.

  “C-can I help you?” the victim in question asked, not expecting to be attacked by the bubbly otter so early in the morning.

  “We’re looking for the Natural going here, he’s a small fox boy, earth element,” said Pacifica.

  Rebecca raised a brow; surely it couldn’t be that easy?

  “Oh yeah, him.” Apparently, it was. “He’s been with Professor Fawkes’ class. They usually use Room 118 for Saturday studies,” said the student.

  “Thanks!” Pacifica waved the hapless victim off. “There we go,” beamed the otter, facing the group.

  “Not touching that gift sword,” Shouri rolled his eyes, strolling towards building one.

  “Another Sahji-?” Taika started to ask.

  “Yeah. It means not questioning something convenient – lest you draw Sahji’s interest,” Pacifica informed the fox as they followed along.

  “Since Sahji ya know, likes watching people stab themselves with the End of Desire,” Rebecca added.

  “Right…” Taika nodded slowly. She furrowed her brows. The lack of faith in the Seven Sages was an interesting aspect of Riterran culture she still had problems coming to grips with. Either way, it mattered not.

  The buildings were just as barren as the courtyards that they passed through. “Saturday,” Shouri mumbled with a short, understanding nod.

  Room 118 was easy enough to find, it was on the second floor, and this time they knew they were in the correct building, unlike the first time they visited the campus.

  Peeking through the glass window on the door, they found their quarry. “Lucky!” Pacifica grinned, pushing the door open.

  “Oh? We have a guest?” an unfamiliar voice asked. The man standing in front of the room took in the quartet that stood his opposite. His calculating gaze studied the four interlopers.

  Colette, Kaira, and Miro, who were all seated in various seats in the small classroom turned back.

  “Oh, Shouri!” Miro exclaimed.

  “You know them, Ms. Severine?” The older man questioned Colette.

  “Y-yes Professor! They’re the ones I told you about.” The student in question stood from her seat, motioning to the group at the door.

  “Ah yes, I believe I remember such a name being on your remote studies application,” the professor mused.

  Shouri took that as his cue to enter the classroom proper, followed by his Resonators.

  “Hmm…” the professor hummed, stepping around his podium to greet the guests.

  As he was being scrutinized, Shouri took the opportunity to size up the teacher of this class. A middle-aged man, clean cut, with long black hair. A pair of glasses adorned his face, and his clothes were proper, but worn loosely – a tie allowed to hang tied up, yet looped wide; the top buttons of his white dress shirt unbuttoned. Black slacks and dress shoes completed the look.

  “Judas Fawkes - Rhythm Studies,” the man offered a hand.

  “Shouri,” the Maestro shook the Professor’s hand.

  Pacifica perked up. She furrowed her brow as she looked the man up and down. Without speaking a word, she grabbed Shouri’s hand and focused on her rhythm. Shouri felt the intention behind her rhythm and returned her gesture in kind.

  “Oh,” the stoic Professor’s eyes widened. “And here I thought Ms. Severine was exaggerating,” said Professor Fawkes. “A genuine à deux user.”

  “You believe that too, huh?” Shouri frowned.

  “It is hard to argue with facts.” The man turned and walked back towards the front of the classroom. “It’s a dangerous thing, à deux.”

  The four affected by the phenomenon in question stepped forward, stopping at the end of the rows of desks.

  “What’s dangerous about it, Professor?” Colette asked.

  He didn’t answer her question directly; instead, he directed a question of his own at the afflicted. “Tell me Mr. Tomoshibi, have you spoken with a Scalatologist?” asked Professor Fawkes.

  Shouri’s brows had been steadily descending into a glare. “Not in a few years,” he replied quietly.

  “What’s that?” Taika whispered to Rebecca.

  “A doctor who specializes in rhythm health,” replied the fire Resonator.

  “Not surprised. If you had, they may have advised you to distance yourself from your Resonators,” stated the professor.

  Miro looked back and forth between the Professor and his dear human friend; his brows turned up with concern.

  “Why?” Colette fretted, the confusion dripping from her voice.

  “à deux is a dangerous thing,” repeated the Professor. “Firstly, it requires a Resonator to be emotionally comfortable with their Maestro; that is to say they’re treated more like family than the utilitarian nature most see in their Resonators,” Professor Fawkes began.

  Shouri growled slightly, the scowl refusing to budge.

  “Secondly, and more importantly, it requires a Maestro with a particular temperament. A hero they’d be called in the past, perhaps a martyr to their Resonators.”

  Miro was flipping through a pocket dictionary. “What is that word mean?” he furrowed his brow.

  “Someone who dies for their cause, in this case, one’s Resonators,” Kaira broke her silence.

  Taika, Pacifica, and Rebecca all looked to their Maestro – that described him perfectly. He had demonstrated that time and again through action alone. It was no wonder Emily and Colette had dubbed them as à deux users. Shouri was showing all the signs of it in his behavior.

  “I considered seeing my Scalatologist again, but I knew they’d prattle the same crap to me,” Shouri spat.

  “You could die; you will die,” Professor Fawkes warned.

  Shouri smirked. “Appreciate the concern, but you can keep it.” He brushed his hand across the three tuners at his hip. The three Resonators by his side felt it at that moment – Shouri already knew all of this. However, he did not waver in his conviction.

  If anything… he planned on mastering à deux.